Embers to the Flame
by DJ GF
Summary: Ambre was a rising trainer, which was nothing new. But when human Pokemon dropped in, she's dragged into the plans of an organization thought to be dead and the mystery around a woman's disappearance.
1. The Lonesome Route

The crackling of the campfire was silenced by the loud chirping of the Pokemon in the wilds. It was definitely a noisy night for some reason. Ambre looked over at the edge of her small camp, having been defined by a rope of hanging tags with different markings and bushes hovering over just outside the perimeter.

Ambre should have stayed back at Lumiose and spend the night there, even if it would be expensive. But no, she figured she could get to Laverre City before sun down. She looked at her boots that were caked in mud next to the fire, letting out a huff of air at the thought. It wouldn't have been bad either, if it wasn't for the fact that route 14 was supposedly a haunted route as well with ghosts roaming the night. One story tells of children getting lost in these woods and never being found ever again. Another says that some ghosts would hunt anyone they find out at night, hiding in the shadows to steal their life. There was even a story of a witch in the woods. Ambre rubbed the white fur on the Absol on her lap, relaxing for the Pokemon for sure as he laid his head on his trainer's lap, but more comforting to her knowing that Absol was by her side.

There was a rustle in the brush. Both Absol and Ambre looked at the bush. The rustling then stopped with the two watching, one shaking and the other glaring. Absol then barked at the bush. A chirp came from the bush followed by something scurrying away. Satisfied, the Absol then laid his head back where it was while Ambre continued to rub his head. At the very least, Absol was there for her.

She didn't know why either. Unlike the rest of Ambre's Pokemon in which she was either given or caught by normal means, Absol seemed to have chosen her instead. Before she technically began her Pokemon journey at a rather late age of eighteen, heading to Lumiose City from her home town of Cyllage, Absol followed her. From outside the city, through the Connecting Cave, running right behind route 7, showing no fear in passing any trainers along the way who must have thought the site of a Pokemon chasing a girl to be silly, and then waiting patiently right outside of Professor Sycamore's till she came out. And Ambre still didn't know why Absol was so desperate to join someone who just got their first Pokemon.

Absol got up from his spot and walked for the open tent behind them. "Going to bed?" Ambre asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sol," he replied.

"I'll be there in a minute then," she got up as well. Ambre grabbed a layer of dirt and tossed it on the fire, the fire itself dimmed. Three more layers and the fire was soon gone with only the embers left. Taking one of her boots, Ambre then started to swat the remaining embers with the sole, leaving her in complete darkness save the weak moonlight through the clouds and trees.

Satisfied and with both boots in hand, Ambre retreated into the tent and found her sleeping bag on the left side, Absol already sleeping on the other side. She placed the boots in a corner, closed the tent opening, and began to change clothes in the darkness. Even in the cramped space and some of it already taken by a Pokemon, Ambre had no problems in getting out of her typical clothes and into her sleepwear. She then discarded her clothes neatly by the other corner up front and got into her sleeping bag. She then pulled out her hair band that held her curvy, blond hair into a ponytail, letting it fall down to her shoulders. Ambre then pulled the sides of her sleeping bag closer to her, tightening the space around her and relaxed. Her journey was going well with her fifth gym badge just the night before. And thus far, there had been almost no hiccups in her journey. Absol helped quite a bit, but that wasn't to say her other Pokemon weren't lending a hand either.

Ambre rolled over and fell asleep, dreaming of nothing in particular.

Something wet was covering her face. Ambre opened her eyes in darkness and with the sound of the tent being rustled by the wind. She rolled away and wiped her face. "What is it Absol?" she asked. Absol scrapped against the front of the tent, moaning. "Alright, hold on," Ambre pulled herself out of her bag, pulling up the zipper to let Absol out. With her Pokemon free to go out, Ambre laid back and went back to sleep.

Instead, Absol pulled on the sleeping bag.

"What now?" Ambre got up, barely seeing an outline of Absol at the end of her sleeping bag.

"Sol," he moaned.

With a groan, Ambre pulled herself out of sleeping bag and out of the tent itself. Immediately, she was met by strong winds that made a shiver run up her spine.

"Really, Absol? You're going to drag me out at this-" Snap! Crash! Thud!

Ambre caught up with her shiver as she spun around to see her tent no longer where it was, shortly followed by moans. "What happened? Is someone there?" Ambre asked out. The cloudy night only helped keep everything near pitch dark. "Are you alright?" Ambre tried to get close, feeling her way through leaves and bark of what was apparently a fallen branch or bush. Her hand then hit something stiff yet smooth. Someone's boot.

"I-it's nothing," a deep voice finally replied. The person rolled off and got up, Ambre seeing them clutching themselves.

"Hold on! You look hurt. I have some bandages and I get you to a hospital if need be."

"That's not necessary," he replied. The figure then tripped and fell to the ground. Ambre just remembered her small fence bordering the camp.

"Wait, you can't even see through the darkness," Ambre ran up to the figure.

"No, I'll be fine," he insisted. Ambre grabbed his arm to try and restrain him. "Ack," he jerked his arm out of her reach.

"See, you're in pain," Ambre commented.

"No, I'm not, you just squeezed my arm."

"At least let me look at it and make sure it isn't broken or anything."

"No, it's alright."

"No it isn't. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I have someone I need to meet."

"After falling from the sky?"

"Yes."

"Then at least let me escort you."

"I don't need an escort." The figure then walked off, tripping on the same wire as before. "Ah, ow!" he yelled.

"Will you let me help you now?" Ambre asked again.

There was a brief moment of silence, save some heavy breathing from the figure. "Fine. But promise me that what you see you will never speak to a single soul about it," the figure answered.

"Surely it isn't that bad," she replied.

"Promise me."

"Fine, I promise."

"Good, because I will hunt you down if you do."

"Sheesh, let me just get my flashlight then so that we can see." Ambre shuffled her way back to where her tent once stood. She felt the branch and tried to pull it up, rather heavy but she managed to barely get it off the ground and turn it off of her tent.

Ambre then felt around for the opening and looked inside for her bag, right in the corner where she placed it. With luck, she found the flashlight and turned it on. Thankful for some actual light, she looked around the inside of her tent at the damage that had been done. While the tent was probably ruined with branches already inside, they seemed to have missed her bags and not touch her sleeping bag. She then got back into her bag and pulled out a white med kit. Pulling herself out with the box in one hand and the flashlight in the other, she turned to the figure: a boy about her age covered almost head to toe in dark clothes save for his head which was rounded and covered in black fur with a short, pointed muzzle, a gold ring on his forehead, two long ears pointing out with a gold band around each all with glaring red eyes.

"Wait, an Umbreon?" Ambre stood still.

"Not a word to anyone," he answered.

"But what are you though?"

"That is something you don't need to know."

"But... are there others like you? Are you the only one?"

"That is something you don't need to know."

"Is there some kind of secret-"

"Are you going to help me or not?" the Umbreon interrupted.

"Oh, yes, I guess that should come first," Ambre finally kneeled next to him and opened the kit, "Take off your coat so that we can have a better look at your arm."

The Umbreon did so, removing the black wind coat and pulled back the short sleeve to his left arm. Following the same as his head, the Umbreon's arm was covered in thin, black fur with a gold ring on his shoulder. Yet it appeared to be structured like a human arm with only the palm of his hand being padded. His elbow though looked swollen.

"This may not be good," Ambre commented as she dug through the kit.

"No ice pack or anything?"

"No, I thought it would be something we could bandage, but I don't know any way to reduce swelling."

"How about some pain relief?"

"Yeah, I have some, but I don't see how it will reduce swelling," Ambre showed the small bottle.

"Well it is aching a bit," he answered.

"Oh, I guess I can do that then," she replied and shook out two pills. The Umbreon then grabbed one pill and swallowed it whole.

"Do you need a drink?" Ambre then asked, replacing the leftover pill and the bottle back.

"No." The Umbreon then got up and put his coat back on, "I better leave then."

"Wait, do you need an escort? There should be a hospital in Laverre City and-"

"I'm not going to Laverre City and I don't need an escort," the Umbreon answered, dusting himself off.

"Can you at least give me your name?"

"That is something you don't need to know." He stepped over the wire carefully and behind a bush.

Ambre closed the kit closed and got up with it and the flashlight in hand. "Come on Absol," she said to the Pokemon sitting next to the tent.

"You're not planning on following, are you?" the Umbreon asked.

"You're hurt and you tripped on the same wire twice," Ambre answered.

There was no reply, Ambre went in after him but was stopped when the Umbreon stepped in front of her, Ambre feeling his eyes glaring at her out of the light.

"Look, you need to forget that I even exist. There are things that you are better off not knowing."

"But you are hurt. I can't stand the idea of a Pokemon being left injured."

"I'll have my friend look at it when I meet them."

"Then let me help you to them."

The Umbreon huff and looked around the opening carefully. "If I stay till morning, will you leave me alone and forget that I existed?" he asked.

"If you are feeling better in the morning," she replied.

"Fine, but as soon as the sun comes up, I'm gone." With that, the Umbreon sat down on the ground where he stood.

"I'll make you a bed then," Ambre said, looking back at the flatten tent. Immediately, she pulled out her sleeping bag and tried to figure out what to do for another. She didn't have a second one since she always traveled by herself. The tent, while probably mostly just the rods that were ruined, wouldn't seem that warm. But he also had fur, meaning that he could probably stay warmer easier. Even Absol didn't seem to have a problem with this. Ambre shook the idea from her head, it didn't seem fitting for someone who just fell from a tree, even just a Pokemon.

Looking at the sleeping bag, she had another idea. If she unzipped and used it as a larger blanket, it should be large enough for two. Then the top of the tent could be used for the bottom to keep them off the ground, even if it wouldn't be that comfortable.

Ambre began pulling out her bag and clothes from the tent and taking out the broken rods. She then quickly brushed off the loose sticks and leaves, leaving the top clean at least. With the top of the tent cleared, she then unzipped the sleeping bag and placed it over the flatten tent neatly. "Bed's ready," she called out to the Umbreon, still sitting in the same spot.

"Where are you sleeping then?" he asked, getting up from his position.

"Here as well," she replied with a finger pointed at one end of the bed.

"And you are fine with that?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I would imagine it would be like sharing a bed with Absol. Besides, I don't have any spare blankets or anything."

The Umbreon groaned with his ears drooping. "Fine," he said as he pushed himself up with his right arm. He pulled back the covers on the far right end and settled in on his right shoulder, using his good arm to lay his head. Ambre then pulled the cover over him. "You don't have to baby me you know," he said to the gesture.

"You're the one that's hurt," she replied with a faint smile.

The Umbreon turned away and closed his eyes.

Ambre took the other end and found a comfortable spot on her stomach. "Are you good?" she asked with one hand on the flashlight next to her. The Umbreon didn't respond, but instead kept his eyes closed. With a bit of a smile, Ambre turned the flashlight off and closed her eyes.

"Hey," the Umbreon asked once they were in darkness.

"Yes?" she asked, opening her eyes to look at him albeit in vein.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just watched a Pokemon get hurt and never help," she answered.

"Even when you are just getting yourself in danger?" he asked, "How do you know I won't attack you while you sleep?"

"I've gotten in deep trouble before and I'm still alive," she bluffed. "Besides, I have Absol to protect me," she didn't bluff.

The Umbreon fell silent.


	2. Morning

The morning sun shinned between the trees, a soft yellow glow slowly waking Ambre up. With the glow, she started to remember everything that had happened that night, explaining the soft cover on top of her yet the rough and stiff bedding underneath her. Once she knew where she was, Ambre then listened quietly for the sounds of anyone else. To her left and rather close to her face, she could hear heavy breathing that had a light stench to it. Probably just Absol. She tried to block out her Pokemon's breathing and tried to listen for the Umbreon, perhaps he had already left like he claimed he would.

"Mom?"

Ambre turned her head and saw that the Umbreon was awake, though squinting his eyes. "Huh?" she asked.

The Umbreon's eyes went wide. "Nothing, I didn't say anything," he shot up and looked the other way. He then held his left arm and started to inspect it with his right hand.

"How's your arm?" Ambre asked.

"Doesn't matter, it's morning and I'm leaving like we agreed," the Umbreon answered.

Ambre grabbed his jacket and got up. "Just let me see it." He gave a low growl, but unzipped his jacket and showed his arm to her. It was much smaller and about the same size as his other arm now, not as swollen as it was the previous night as far as Ambre remembered. "Does it ache?"

"No, it's fine," the Umbreon answered.

Ambre tried to smile, but she knew that such a fall couldn't have left him without something broken. If only he would let her take him to a hospital or something. "Well then, I guess I shouldn't keep you then," she replied, trying to keep the smile.

"Alright then," he turned around to leave. He stepped over the small fence and continued off, not stopping to look back.

She sat there and watched, her chest feeling heavy as she watched him leave. Absol walked in front of her view and sat down, starring at her. "Well, do you think I did the right thing, Absol?" she asked, managing to look away to her companion. He replied by placing a dirty paw on her shoulder. "Thought so," Ambre replied with scratching the back of Absol's head, "I better get packing then."

With the moment of privacy, Ambre quickly changed out of her pajamas and into her previous day's clothes. Stuffing her old pajamas in her bag, she then began to roll up her sleeping bag.

"Sol," Absol barked.

Ambre looked around to see what he was looking at. Standing by the fence was the Umbreon. "You're back," she commented, putting the sleeping bag down, untied.

"I figured I should at least help you pack since you helped me last night," he said, stepping over the perimeter.

"Oh, thanks. Well, if you can, I guess you can fold up the tent."

He only nodded as a response and grabbed the tent. As Ambre rolled up the sleeping bag again, tying it up this time, she watched as the Umbreon proceeded to fold the tent up, being rather careful with his left arm as just a guide and using his right arm to hold it down.

"Feeling fine?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, not even looking up at her.

Ambre didn't push any further, simply instead placing her sleeping bag in her backpack. "If you don't mind me asking, but what exactly were you doing above my tent last night?" she asked.

"Staying for the night," the Umbreon replied, "You actually just happened to setup camp right where I was sleeping the night."

She wanted to say something, but she decided to hold it.

"Here, I'll let you put it away," the Umbreon presented the tent, folded tightly, and four broken rods.

"Thanks," Ambre accepted them and shoved them in her bag. "Now all that is left is the fence."

"Why do you have a fence?"

"To keep Pokemon away, of course. You have heard that this forest is haunted by ghost Pokemon, right?" she replied, pulling up one of the pegs to it. With one support gone, the fence immediately went limp.

The Umbreon did the same thing, pulling out a peg with his right hand and tossing it by Ambre's bag. "You know these won't actually work, right?" he commented.

"What do you mean? The tags repel Pokemon away," Ambre replied, tossing her peg with the Umbreon's.

"Not really. These tags do nothing. Pokemon aren't scared of these or anything," he replied, pulling out and tossing another peg.

"How would you know?" Ambre asked. The Umbreon just turned at her and shook his head with his ears lowered. "Oh, right."

Absol stood up from his spot and started to watch a small opening. Ambre looked at where he was looking, but saw nothing. She then looked at Absol, his head was lowered and the fur on his back was standing up.

"Someone's coming," the Umbreon commented. Ambre looked back at him, seeing his ears twitch.

"Can you tell what it is?" she asked, looking at the opening that Absol and the Umbreon were watching.

"Yeah, it's him," he replied, "I can smell his cologne."

Ambre could smell it as well now. It was faint, but it little there was definitely had a sting to it, almost like it was an old man's cologne.

"Listen, Ambre, you need to run, now," he stated.

"What, why?"

"Don't question me. Just run now and you'll probably get out of trouble."

"What about you?" Ambre grabbed her bag with both straps on.

"He's just looking for me, okay? He probably doesn't know you're here."

Ambre looked at the opening and then at him. She then saw in the corner of her eye Absol looking at her, watching her movement. Ambre ran up to the Umbreon and grabbed his coat.

"What are you doing?" the Umbreon grabbed her arm with his left hand followed by his right.

"Absol doesn't like this person, so you're coming with me," she replied, pulling up.

"Let go! If I go with you, then you are just going to be dragged into this. And this is a pretty deep hole you won't climb your way out of," he tried to pulled her arm off.

Ambre only tightened her grip, "Then let me pull you out of it!"

"This is no time to be arguing!"

"Umbreon, that is no way to talk to a lady."

Both of them turned to the opening. Standing there was an older, larger man with hair already turning bleach white, wearing a perfectly clean black suit with a small red pin on his chest and a cane in his right hand. Next to him was a Lucario with a black collar around its neck.

"Tom, keep her out of it. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," the Umbreon managed to break Ambre's grip and step in front of her.

"Of course, Umbreon, of course. So long as she promises to stay quiet about this and you go along quietly, I'll pretend that you were here by yourself," the man, Tom, replied.

"Alright, you have a deal." Ambre saw him droop his ear a bit with his answer.

"Aw, good, I was hoping I wouldn't have to force you to do anything," Tom answered, "We best be going then. I'm sure you have many assignments to catch up on."

"Wait," Ambre stepped in front of the Umbreon, "You're a Pokemon trainer, correct?"

"That isn't important now, ma'am. I suggest you stay out of something that doesn't concern you," Tom replied.

"What are you doing?" the Umbreon whispered to her. She didn't reply.

"You aren't seriously going to suggest that you are going to skip out on a Pokemon battle, are you?" Ambre asked Tom, waiting.

"As much as I appreciate your youthfulness and would gladly take up your offer under different circumstances, I have no time at such the moment and neither do you. If another group party finds us, and they will if we have such a battle, I guarantee you that they will not offer you the chance to escape," he replied.

"Seriously, go!" the Umbreon whispered, harshly, to Ambre.

A burst of energy erupted by the Lucario, knocking it down by surprise. Ambre grabbed the Umbreon's arm and bursted off in the opposite direction, almost dragging him as he was caught by surprise. Shortly behind them was Absol.

"What are you doing?" the Umbreon asked, managing to keep his balance as he was pulled through the forest.

"Shut up and keep running," she replied, dodging between branches.

Behind them, she could faintly hear Tom. Apparently the Lucario was now after them.

"Seriously, I know that Lucario, we can't outrun him," the Umbreon replied.

"Won't need to," Ambre replied. She stopped and grabbed one of her Pokeballs hanging off of her bag. "Delphox, go!"

The ball popped open and a orange fox came out with flaming ears. Standing upright, it looked much like a short, older woman with red fur that made it look like it was wearing a dress. Delphox pulled out a stick from inside the fur of her right hip and pointed the burning end at the approaching Lucario. "Delphox, use mystic fire!" Ambre commanded, holding the Pokeball ready.

With the Lucario near, Delphox spun her stick in a circle. The red flame at then changed blue and, with a flick in the wrist, blue fire leaped out at the Lucario. Direct hit. "Perfect!" Ambre cheered.

Through the flame, Lucario leapt through with it defending itself. A black aura surrounded it as it landed then burst out from its body. A black wave hit Delphox and, though it lacked any force, knocked her down. "What, how?"

"Trust me, this isn't a typical Lucario," the Umbreon commented.

With her plan now backfiring, Ambre returned Delphox.

"Seriously, run now while you have the chance," the Umbreon said, grabbing Ambre's hand with his left.

She looked at the Lucario then at the path ahead. They still had a long ways to go before they got to Lumiose City.

"Go on without me," he repeated, trying pull her grip off.

"We can still make it," she tried to run.

The Lucario fired a blue ball at them, it hit the ground right in front of Ambre's feet and causing her to fall. The Umbreon held on, making sure she didn't fall down. Ambre looked back at the Lucario. It was ready for another shot if they tried to run. She looked ahead. There was nothing nearby they would be able to get too for cover. Her Delphox was their only hope to taking out the Lucario quickly. They were caught now.

"Go without me," the Umbreon said.

Ambre looked back, wanting to argue. But she knew there was nothing she could say to convince him now. She couldn't even convince herself. They both let go of their grip. The Umbreon turned to the Lucario and Ambre ran away with Absol by her side.


	3. Home Away from Home

Ambre found the main road and walked towards Laverre City, slouching with her head down and arms limp by her side the entire way. Absol walked by her side, both keeping them on the path and looking up at his trainer to make sure she was alright. The path was clearing up to be only dirt, both Ambre and Absol were glad of that, which meant that they would soon arrive. As they rounded a turn and Ambre stopped. She looked up at the sky, filled with some white clouds but otherwise the clear blue skies and the sun not quite at its peak clearly visible. It was a nice day, perhaps a good day to continue training before the next gym. Or maybe a walk around the city would clear her mind a bit, Laverre was said to be a rather unique city from others in the Kalos region.

"Sol?"

She snapped back into reality. Absol was standing in front of her, watching. Having her attention, he then placed a paw on her right knee. "Sorry Absol, I guess I'm just distracted," she kneeled down and scratched the back of his head, "It's just, well, did we really need to leave him behind? Was there really no way we could have gotten him out of there?" Ambre then took a seat by a small stone by the side of the road, if only to rest for a moment. "I mean, he didn't seem that thrilled to go back with that man. He only did so because I was there," she continued talking to Absol. "But would it have been better if I wasn't there? If I wasn't there, he could have probably escaped, knowing that he wouldn't have to worry about getting me out. If anything, I probably made it worse for him." The thought made her heart sink some more and her body ache.

Absol placed his head on her lap, looking up.

"Oh Absol, I wish this could have been easier," she said, embracing his head out of comfort, "If I knew that they were looking for him, I would have dragged him to a hospital or something."

Absol gently shook free from her grip and turned towards up the road.

"Yeah, I guess you are right," Ambre said as she pushed herself up. "Moping about it won't help us at the moment." With Absol by her side, Ambre walked up the path to Laverre City, looking ahead. "Still, I hope he's alright," she mumbled to herself.

Laverre City quickly came into view, though not immediately obvious. It was almost exactly what she thought it would be like: all of the houses almost looked like doll houses with natural colors but then vibrant colors for the trims. The path was still dirt, but was met on both sides by wooden fences and colorful flowers growing on both sides. There was also a lack of metal or concrete, save for a city clock in a tree near the center and the Pokemon Center that stood out like a sore thumb. Everything was made out of wood or something else that was natural.

Even the people seemed to match their city. The clothes they wore were bright and had many ribbons and laces to them else wore more earthly colors and more practical clothes. As she walked by the clothes store, Ambre down at her black and crimson dress. She definitely stood out from everybody in her more professional look, that was for sure, but the dress was also getting old and filthy from long travels.

"What do you think, Absol, think we have room in my bag?" she asked.

Absol looked at her then looked around, uninterested.

"Men," she giggled, "We better get to the Pokemon Center then."

It was surprisingly crowded inside the center. There appeared to be many trainers inside with random Pokemon out. Some were nursing their Pokemon, idle (and not so idle) chitchat, one table in a corner had many trainers huddled around a corner, playing some kind of board game. Ambre placed a hand on Absol's back, gently keeping him close to her as they walked through the crowd to the front of the desk. The nurse, Joy, was typing frantically on a computer below the counter with her focus away from everyone else.

"Um, excuse me?" Ambre stepped forward.

Nurse Joy shook and went wide eyed. "Oh, terribly sorry,, can I help you?" she asked.

"Um, yes, do you have any rooms available?"

"Well, not at the moment. But I will have plenty of rooms open by this afternoon around two o'clock. Will that be fine?"

"Yeah, that will be just fine."

"Alright then, I'll just need to see some ID." Ambre swung her bag around and dug through her front pocket. She pulled out a red device that popped open and handed it to Nurse Joy.

As she began typing on the computer, Ambre looked at the crowd again. So many trainers in there, most of them at least being older than her. What could possibly be the reason for all of them being in one city at the same time?

"Are you wondering why all of these trainers are here?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Yes actually, why would there be so many trainers here?"

"A guild had a tournament here apparently. They have been showing up from time to time, different trainers each time who come, have a few battles, then just leave. Personally, a few announcements and calls in advance would be nice, but it is not like this city doesn't greatly benefit from them. Alright, you are all set. By the time the room is cleaned out, we will have it ready for you," Nurse Joy handed back the device, "Will you need to be leaving any Pokemon?"

"Yes, just Delphox," Ambre exchanged the device with a Pokeball.

"Just one? Okay then," Nurse Joy accepted it, "See you this evening then."

"Thanks," Ambre left with a smile. She then turned to leave, walking slowly past the crowd. Some moved out of her way, though quite a few apparently didn't even know that she existed, making what was supposed to be a short walk out the exit rather long.

Someone knocked into Ambre, having her fall down. "Oh, sorry," a deep voice replied followed with a gloved hand in front of her, "I swear you weren't there a second ago."

"It's okay, I just need to get out of this mad house," she replied, taking the hand up, "Thanks."

The person was already gone. Ambre looked around for anyone, but everyone was talking with themselves. It was like the person just vanished. Something light brushed off the inside of her hand, a small slip of folded paper that had fallen. Still confused as to what had happened, Ambre kneeled down and picked it up. Opening was scribbled writing that read, "Find Rebecca Lewis." In the bottom right corner was a small, black circle with two thick sticks pointing out at a angle.

"Wait a second." She immediately closed the paper and looked around once more. Still seeing the same crowd, Ambre hurried out the door, crumbling up the paper in her hand to hide any evidence of it.


	4. Run

Quickly thinking of a place to hide, Ambre immediately dashed off for the clothes store she saw earlier. The note was still clenched in her hand, hidden from anyone else even knowing that it existed. As she got some distance from the center, she briefly looked back to see if anyone was following. No one, no one seemed to be even watching her. Given the chance, Ambre slung her bag around and quickly stuffed the paper inside. Hopefully no one would try to pickpocket her.

She hoped that she was wrong, but the trainers in the Pokemon Center were probably the ones that had been searching for the Umbreon. Then the person who bumped in to her must have been the Umbreon himself. But how did she not notice him? A walking Pokemon wasn't exactly something no one would notice. Perhaps why all of those trainers had their Pokemon out. One standing in the crowd is a lot harder to tell when there are so many. Ambre tried to remember the person's face who bumped into her. She remembered sunglasses, and they were definitely wearing a coat. But everything else seemed to be blank in her memory besides the glove. The voice also seemed too deep, but perhaps he could have fake that.

What if it was also a test? What if the fact that she does anything mean that she was not to be trusted? Could she just be getting in deeper trouble by doing anything about the message? She probably already failed then. But given the lack of anyone following her, she was probably not quite deep enough yet.

Ambre opened the wooden door to the shop with the ring of a bell. The small building was rather open with dressed mannequins standing on top of tables with a few matching clothes. Unlike the Pokemon Center, there was very few people and Absol was the only Pokemon. She just needed to try something on, giving her the chance to look at the note again, shouldn't be too hard.

To her left was a cute outfit. It was pink with a white ribbon tied around the front. She looked down at her dirty black boots. There was no way they would match and while a new pair of shoes would have been nice, shoes was harder to pack than clothes. The dress probably would not have done well stuffed in a bag either. Ambre looked down at her own as well. It was probably the same story.

"What do you think, Absol?" she asked.

Absol didn't look up. Instead, he kept starring at something. Probably out of boredom.

"That's what I figured."

Another outfit then caught her eye on a table in the back: a more casual, kiwi green blouse and pale brown denim shorts. While the outfit looked more ideal for traveling, Ambre couldn't visualize it with her boots. Absol gently nudged her leg. "Hold on," she turned to him, still watching apparently nothing in particular. With very few options, Ambre dug through the pile of clothes for her size. With a rather easy victory, being a trainer had plenty more advantages, and initial sizing having some pleasing results, Ambre took the clothes to by the dressing rooms in the corner.

"Just these two items?" an employee asked.

"Yes," she replied, showing both clothes.

"Alright." The employee did her routine run. She knocked by the side of the curtains and called out. No response. She then pulled back the curtains and let Ambre in. Absol stayed behind.

Ambre quickly changed clothes and wasted as little time as possible. If she quickly figured out if she would like the outfit, then she could spend a little bit of time studying the note. She put on her last boot, leaving both untied, and admired herself in front of a mirror. It wasn't bad, even with her boots. But her blonde hair, she felt like a Sunflora in the outfit. Satisfied, Ambre quickly changed out of the outfit and into her old dress. With what was probably a little bit of time for someone like her, she dug out the note and looked it over again. All it said was to find someone named "Rebecca Lewis." The symbol in the corner also still looked like an Umbreon, though she supposed there was the possibility of something else like a Pikachu.

Something was coming through the curtains. Ambre jumped back against the wall. It was only Absol pulling in. "Absol, what are you doing? There isn't room for you."

He didn't given any response, instead watching underneath the curtain and backing away.

Knowing her time was up, Ambre stuffed the note back into her bag and getting finished tying her boots.

There was a knock by the frame. "Excuse me miss," the employee said behind the curtain, "But there is an older gentleman waiting for you."

Ambre looked at the white curtain, not knowing what to say at first. She was hidden behind the curtain so no one could see her yet she couldn't see them. Absol retreated inside though, surely whoever was behind the curtain was not going to be pleasant.

"Just a sec," Ambre said. She then clenched her jaw.

With the damage done, Ambre slowly tied up her last boot. But there was only so many times she could try double knotting and tightening her boots. Her heart was pounding in her chest. If need be, she could cause a commotion. It seemed to work in the movies. Ambre slowly grabbed the pants and shirt then pulled the curtains opened. Waiting was the old man from earlier, wearing his black suit and cane supporting him.

"Ah, did you find an outfit you like?" his face immediately lit up.

Ambre was left dumbfounded. She looked down at the clothes in hand. She could create a commotion, but how far could she get?

"Come on, I'll pay it for you. For your birthday," the man said.

"I can check you out then, let me just get a tablet," the employee left the two.

Once she was out of ears reach, Ambre asked, "What do you want with me?"

"He voided the contract. So I'm here to discuss a new one," the man replied. Running would probably be a bad idea then.

The employee came back. The man did as he said and happily pulled out some money to pay for the clothes as she scanned each one. "Will you need a bag?"

"Yes please, if you don't mind," the man asked.

She took the clothes and slid them into a small bag by the counter. She then presented the bag to Ambre. "Have a nice day," she said.

"Thanks," Ambre accepted the bag. She could only hope that it was going to be a good day.

The old man nodded and lead Ambre to the door. "After you," he pulled the door open for her and Absol. Ambre only smiled as she walked through, Absol was still tense.

With the door closed shut, Ambre turned back at the man. "You wanted to talk about something?" she asked.

"Let's walk, I'm afraid standing is more painful to my legs," he gestured to center of the city. Ambre walked next to him, keeping her head turned slightly to watch him for sudden movements. "I believe proper introductions are in order then, this being our second time meeting each other in less than ideal circumstances," he didn't seem fazed by Ambre's watchful eye, "I am Tom Henderson, a bit of a former trainer myself. But sadly, those days are long gone. And might I ask your name, ma'am?"

"Ambre," she replied. Giving her last name sounded like a bad idea.

"So, Ambre, I must ask before we discuss our new contract. Why exactly did you choose to fight instead of flee this morning? Your freedom was essentially guaranteed had you not grab Umbreon and run off."

"He didn't sound thrill to go with you," she replied.

"No, but neither is a child leaving an amusement park. Do you happen to know why he was even running around?"

"To get away from your group?"

"Not quite. He did give you that note, right?" Ambre jerked her arm to reach back, but quickly stop herself. "Which brings me to our new contract. If you choose to run but remain silent, then that will be the end of this and we will no longer be further contacting you. But if you tell a single soul, we will know and will not take it lightly to you or the person you tell. And don't think that there is a safe place for you to hide. As for that note, well, you are free to look further into it. Umbreon was wanting to solve the mystery himself, but we simply cannot allow him to do that. You on the other hand, we can give some leniency. Just know though, while we will appreciate you doing this for Umbreon, there is some information in this case that you would be best not to chase. Do you understand?

"What about Umbreon's freedom?" Ambre asked.

Tom chuckled. "His freedom? Do you mean to suggest that he is imprisoned? You do not mean to suggest that his life would be much better in this world at this moment."

"Then why did he run away?"

"Because things got...personal for him. But you are digging where you should not be. So are we under agreement?"

"Only if you include letting Umbreon go."

"Ambre, you are in no position to negotiate such a deal. If need be, we can act tonight and that will be the end of it. Now do you agree with these terms or not?"

She bit the bottom of her lip, trying to think. Tom was right, she had no way to negotiate Umbreon's freedom. If anything, he was cutting out a worse deal. "I'm still going to get Umbreon away from you somehow," she replied.

"Try as you must, but you will only hurt yourself and Umbreon in the process." The two stopped in front of the Pokemon Center, albeit still too early in the day. "Now then, I must be heading off. And please, regard your clothes as a token of our agreement."

As Tom continued on down the path, Ambre was starting to hate the clothes she got.


	5. The Beginning of a Ghost Hunt

Ambre spent the rest of the night in her room, alone. She didn't want to eat but didn't exactly want to put her Pokemon through the same thing as well. Instead, she left them with the center for the night, picking them all up when she was ready. She laid on one of the bottom bunks, staring at the mattress right above her.

Just last night, Ambre was working on defeating the gym leaders, becoming stronger, and going to the Indigo League. Just like every other trainer. Now she was being watched and threatened by some secret organization as well, though she didn't even know who they were to begin with. Unlike every other trainer who were probably oblivious to everything.

She rolled over, starring at the blank, white wall. She could stay quiet, pretend like none of this happened. But she couldn't ignore the fact that the Umbreon didn't look happy at all in going back which was something she couldn't live without doing something. There was always the police, tipping them off could probably get him out. But they probably wouldn't believe her. Ambre wouldn't even be able to believer herself if she had not seen a human Pokemon herself in broad day light, having touched him and talked with him herself. Could she actually try and do the investigation though? She didn't know who this Rebecca Lewis was. Where would she even begin? Maybe the Pokemon Center had a computer she could use to do some research.

Then what? What if she found this Rebecca Lewis? How would finding her actually help the Umbreon? And what was her relationship to him? This was something she would have to find in her research.

That itself could get her in trouble though.

Ambre was warned if she started to dig up information where she was not suppose to find. They didn't give her any information to go by as to what was dangerous and what was not, but she didn't have anything to go by.

She rolled over and looked over at the time. A bit after eight. Ambre got out of bed and headed out the room. Least she could do is see if she could find some information on this Rebecca person before going to sleep.

During the late hour, the Pokemon Center was near empty with just a nurse playing with something behind her desk and a single trainer sitting on a couch, reading a book. Ambre took a quick look over of the trainer: a boy about her age, maybe younger, definitely human though. She figured that they were probably just some random trainer.

There was a single computer at the front desk with a pokeball screensaver spinning around on it. Ambre tapped a key and opened up a web browser, keeping the window small. "Rebecca Lewis" she searched. The returned results were of random people. She then tried "Police Rebecca Lewis". The first result was on a police report.

Ambre opened the report and read:

Missing: Rebecca Lewis

Age: 34, Sex: F, Height: 5' 7", Weight: 165lbs.

Last Seen: In Lumiose City, heading towards route 14 on a business trip. Last known contact was with employer in Goldenrod City, Johto.

If you have any information in regards to Rebecca Lewis' location, please contact the Lumiose Police immediately.

The page was dated about two months ago. In the top right corner of the page was a picture of Rebecca. For someone in her thirties, she did seem like a beautiful lady with fair, clean skin and clean, curly blonde hair. Ambre also recognized the expensive coat the lady was wearing in the picture.

Otherwise the report had no new information. She backed out of the page and continued her search. But the other results quickly became more websites that were either near empty else had were unrelated to what she was looking for. So much for searching on the web.

Ambre cleared out her history page and retreated in defeat. A picture helped and she knew where to look for more clues, but nothing came up to help her. It wasn't like route 14 was very large and would get knee deep in mud. One could probably hide a body in there.

She removed the possibility of the last thought.

It was still not going to be easy looking for a clue for someone who had no contacts in the Kalos region alone and if the police couldn't find her then Ambre probably had less of a chance of doing so either. And why couldn't they give her more information about Rebecca so that finding her would be easier?

Ambre got back to her room and immediately collapsed on her bed. Would there even be any evidence left? Surely by now the trail would have gone cold. She would have to get a hold of any information the police managed to obtain. Even then, would they just so freely give it to her? Maybe if she claimed to be a detective, but that would be hard to believe for someone with a couple of gym badges on her.

She got up and started to get ready for the night. What could she do then? Ambre could try and comb out all of the route personally, but that probably wouldn't work well. Maybe she could try and retrace Rebecca's steps. Would people still remember someone who went missing out of every face they've seen that day? Lumiose City was actually quite large with so many people in a given day.

Even if she managed to retrace Rebecca's steps, she was only seen going to route 14. It was quite possible that no one saw her beyond that. That led Ambre back to square one with no leads. Could Rebecca have some enemies? Maybe someone against the organization was after her. Perhaps they left a clue or maybe a ransom note. That would be something to keep an eye out for. There was another problem though: she knew nothing about Rebecca nor could she find out. Ambre knew that the organization that Rebecca was with was watching her, so they said, but it wasn't like she could grab some random person near her and ask them questions, right?

Dressed for bed and having brush her teeth, Ambre collapsed again on her bed again and got under her sheets. It was cold but there was a lot of room underneath. She tried and remember what the Umbreon said. He said that he had someone to meet, though that was probably a bluff, but otherwise just general complaining. He had a different tune come that morning though, actually holding a conversation with her, but nothing about what he was doing. So why was Rebecca Lewis so important to find for him? Was there some kind of relationship between him and curly blonde woman?

Ambre sprung up from bed. What the Umbreon had said that morning, right when the two woke up. Could Rebecca Lewis actually be the Umbreon's mother?


End file.
